My Best Friend is Black

Bio:

Mike Atcherson is a stand-up, writer, and actor originally from the always sunny (and problematic) state of Florida and is now based in Chicago, IL. With his charming personality paired with his material that ranges from dating to absurd anecdotes, Mike can win over any crowd. He has performed in numerous clubs across the country including The Laugh Factory in Chicago, The Improv, and Zanies. Mike is also a comedic writer, who’s humor pieces can be found on FLEXX, Widget, and Slackjaw. He is a single parent of four lovely houseplants and enjoys playing guitar during his downtime.

Marcus Banks is a stand up comedian based in Chicago, Illinois. After graduating from Boston University in 2017 and running out of couches to hop on in Los Angeles, Marcus decided to give stand up comedy a try and has not turned back. He’s performed at Laugh Factory, Zanies, and Comedy Bar in Chicago. In March of 2019, he was chosen to be a contestant in the Kenan Thompson Ultimate Experience Road to NYC competition. Additionally, Marcus hosts an open mic at Second City and helped produce a comedy show (Quick Fix Comedy) at the World Famous Revolution Brewing.

Chloe Mikala is a Black Queer actor, comedian, and writer, who won’t shut up about astrology. As a comedian, Chloe performs stand up all around Chicago, at city festivals, and was recently seen in the "SuperAfroWavy… Show" at The Second City. Chloe is also a Helen Hayes Nominated Actor, a 2021 Second City/NBC Universal Bob Curry Fellow, and recently won Best Supporting Actress at the Houston Horror Film Festival. When she's not craving laughter and attention from strangers, she's rewatching Grey's Anatomy or screaming at sports television! @chloe_mikala 

Justin Walker is a standup comedian, writer, actor, and songwriter born and raised in Chicago. New to the scene, Justin has quickly become a rising star performing at venues all over the city, most frequently at the renowned Comedy Bar. Justin wows audiences with an observational comedic style that mixes absurdist and dark humor, and hopes to one day take his talents to the small screen, writing for sketch comedy/late night tv shows. When he’s not writing or performing, you can catch him rooting for, and being disappointed by, the Chicago Bears. Bear Down!

Rho Hudson is an up and coming Chicago comedian. Originally from Lansing, MI. She has studied improv at the The Second City and The Annoyance Theater. In 2019 she was a contestant for "Stand Up NBC." Rho's brand of comedy can be described as goofy, optimistic and a little dirty! in her downtime she is working on her podcast, LifeStory; available on Spotify.

About My Best Friend is Black:

My Best Friend is Black is a live comedy variety show that focuses on providing a platform for Black performers. Of course, people of all backgrounds are encouraged to come out and laugh with us.

“We would love to collaborate with Arts & Public Life because our mission is to have an all Black show where all Black people—queer, non binary, straight, suburban, urban, and everyone on the spectrum of the Black diaspora—to feel comfortable, welcomed, represented and in a space where they can laugh hysterically. We want that space to be in a neighborhood and space that’s accessible for Black folks. Having our show in this beautiful space would be perfect!”